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Innovation

The reason why many B2B startups sink

If you're looking to startup a B2B firm, what is the main pitfall to avoid?
Written by Charlie Osborne, Contributing Writer

Why do some startups succeed and others fail? A lack of funding, a confused business plan, poor consumer demand or government red tape can all contribute -- but for a number of business-to-business startups, the reason can be far simpler.

Over at VentureBeat, Matthew Howard, managing partner of Norwest Venture Partners says that while credit for a business' success can be attributed to innovative thinking and entrepreneurial energy, failure is most often due to a simple concept: a lack of beta testing.

Entrepreneurs, on fire with their ideas that will change the B2B world, are usually keen to rush their products out to the market, create hype, and hopefully see their valuations soar. However, the executive argues that time is better spent taking it slowly -- running solutions through a beta program, completing tests, issuing fixes and keeping the product off the market until it is the best it can possibly be.

By doing so, fledgling businesses can save money, time, and are more likely to make a good impression once the product hits the shelves.

There is pressure in today's fast-paced market to produce the goods, raise the capital and hit targets thick and fast. However, if something goes wrong which could have been picked up in the beta stage, business owners may not have a second chance.

A study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology found that half of software development budgets in the U.S. goes towards testing, but software flaws still cost the economy more than $59.5 billion every year.

Perhaps we should all take that lesson to heart and learn to slow down a little for the best results.

Via: VentureBeat

Image credit: Flickr

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com

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